How can I move to Japan, and find work as an attorney (before I'm 40).?

[JTK]

I am a 35 yr. old single, male attorney living in California. I am a sr. in-house counsel at a very well-known entertainment/media company. While the brand is known world-wide, we do not have offices in Japan, and there is no chance of the company ever expanding in that country. After graduating from college with a minor in Japanese, I studied in Japan for 1 year prior to entering law school. However, after 15 years of not studying the language, I managed to forget most of what I learned in college and during my year abroad. I have been taking classes and studying diligently for the last year, but have a few years a head of me before I will be close to fluent.

My goal is find a job in Japan. Ideally, I would like to work in-house (doesn't everyone!) for a multi-national. The recruiters I've spoken w/ so far tell me that I need to be fluent in order to have a real chance of finding a job as an attorney in Japan. The problem is that, in order to become proficient enough to find work, I feel that I need to be immersed in the language for at least 6 months to a year. Unfortunately, a mortgage and 6-figure student loans prevent me from just up and leaving the States, even though I would love to do just that.

So, since you fine folks were able to help me find a great pair of boots (Red Wing GT), a beautiful computer bag (Filson 257) and start me down the path of fashion refinement, I thought s/one out there might have some advice on how I can get to Japan before I'm 40 and tied down!

 

[Benzito]

Start dating a Japanese chick. Shouldn't be too hard to find in California. Let her practice English on you while you practice Japanese. I bet a few months of successful dating will refresh your memory. It'd be nice if she is marriage-worthy and her family has links in the old country, of course.

 

[Gran Torino]

Originally Posted by Benzito

Start dating a Japanese chick. Shouldn't be too hard to find in California. Let her practice English on you while you practice Japanese. I bet a few months of successful dating will refresh your memory. It'd be nice if she is marriage-worthy and her family has links in the old country, of course.

I doubt it they don´t like people not japanese, they even got a word for that but I forgot.

 

[hws]

Originally Posted by Benzito

Let her practice English on you while you practice Japanese.
You can to practice much other thing also!

 

[countcount]

Originally Posted by JTK

My goal is find a job in Japan.

What is your motivation for wanting to move to Japan?

Ideally, I would like to work in-house (doesn't everyone!) for a multi-national. The recruiters I've spoken w/ so far tell me that I need to be fluent in order to have a real chance of finding a job as an attorney in Japan.

If you are willing to take less than your ideal you can still find a job here.
The fluency part is not accurate. It will depend on your motivation and for what you are willing to settle.

 

[Godot]

See if there is a Japanese cable channel and if so sign up and watch it exclusively. Read Japanese newspapers.Visit Japanese bars and cafes. If there is a Japanese film showing-see it. If you make an effort, you can create sort of a mini Japan in CA.
There are people who have lived here for years speaking only Spanish, Chinese, Korean Etc. by living in their own communities.

 

[blackjack]

This site contains some decent advice and links to general job sites like this one and this one.

You might have a better chance of getting a job with a foreign law firm than securing an in-house position. If you've practiced law in the US for a minimum of three years, then you can qualify as a gaikokuho jimu bengoshi. If your legal career in the US has been entirely in-house, I believe there you are still otherwise employable in Japan. Plus, there are plenty of gaiben I know with minimal Japanese-ability.

You might start with some of the recruiting firms that specialize in legal positions, however, you should not use them as the sole guide to opportunities in the market. Headhunters get paid 25-35% of the first year of compensation of each candidate they manage to place - and they like to maximize their own odds. That means they won't "waste time" with candidates who might not fit the spec exactly which includes being physically out of the country.

It would make much more sense to go direct. It should not be difficult to draw up a list of US and British law firms with offices in Tokyo who has relative strength in your area of expertise. You could start with MoFo, White & Case, Latham Watkins, Paul Hastings, Freshfields, Clifford Chance, Allen Overy, etc. and try reaching out first to any Partners or Associates from your alumni network.

The legal job market still probably sucks but it has to pick up some time. You might consider a dual-purpose sightseeing/job-hunting vacation to Tokyo in 2010. You might even be able to deduct a good portion of those expenses from your taxes. You should be able to find a decent centrally-located hotel that won't break your budget - for example, b-akasaka. Give yourself at least one week and use the time to fill it up with meetings you've scheduled beforehand with alumni and friends of friends at the aforementioned targeted law firms. They can be simple informational meetings - it's pretty hard for most people to say 'no'. Make sure you check out their corporate websites for any openings however - don't walk in blind.

Meet with headhunters but give them 2nd or 3rd priority. Don't screw it up so that they've pimped your resume out to prospective employers who might otherwise be interested in hiring you but might be a bit hesitant as they now need to pay the headhunter a 30% success fee.

 

[Svenn]

Temple law school has the only ABA-approved semester program in Tokyo, I did it last year. We met lots of bengoshi and gaijin bengoshi, but the job-scene was oriented more towards internships and recent graduates rather than experienced attorneys. All of our professors seemed to be advisers of some sort, a JAG, and an immigration lawyer... but the advisers seemed very well off. All of them were fluent in Japanese, and all the students I saw getting interviews were at least semi-fluent. I don't know, the whole scene sounded pretty brutal to me in terms of expected work hours, especially when you consider what's expected of native bengoshi.

Are you doing this just for the women or do you have some special connection to Japan? You sound like a relatively recent graduate if your debts are still 6 figures. I've interned some abroad and from my experiences I wouldn't do it just for some vague paradigm of life being more exciting there... life is life wherever you are. If you're looking for women (you wouldn't be the first in Japan), I might recommend a more southern Asian country simply because Japanese women (on top of not being that attractive in general) are on average more conservative than most Westerners prefer, but that's of course a very broad generalization. So long as you remain single, a high-flying legal job in Bangkok sounds like paradise to me... but the single international drifter over 45 is a bit of a tired image.

 

[JTK]

Well, I'm definitely not an Asian fetishist. I hate the stereotype and the fact that that is everyone's first assumption when I say that I am learning the language and want to live in Japan. There are plenty of Asian women in So. Cal, and wouldn't need to move to Japan to follow that pursuit. Japan appeals to me for two main reasons: Firstly, it's a dream of mine to finally become fluent in Japanese. All of the books, classes and conversation partners in the US will only get me so far. Secondly, I really enjoy the country, the culture, people, etc. It's everything that I dislike about Los Angeles. I find it fascinating that, despite the population, neon and managed chaos, the streets are clean and the people are relatively civil to each other. I have no intentions of remaining there forever, but a year or two seems like a reasonable goal.
I've actually been practicing for 10 years. The loans are there because I naively locked in the interest rate at 8% right out of law school!

 

[Svenn]

Originally Posted by JTK

Well, I'm definitely not an Asian fetishist. I hate the stereotype and the fact that that is everyone's first assumption when I say that I am learning the language and want to live in Japan. There are plenty of Asian women in So. Cal, and wouldn't need to move to Japan to follow that pursuit. Japan appeals to me for two main reasons: Firstly, it's a dream of mine to finally become fluent in Japanese. All of the books, classes and conversation partners in the US will only get me so far. Secondly, I really enjoy the country, the culture, people, etc. It's everything that I dislike about Los Angeles. I find it fascinating that, despite the population, neon and managed chaos, the streets are clean and the people are relatively civil to each other. I have no intentions of remaining there forever, but a year or two seems like a reasonable goal.
I've actually been practicing for 10 years. The loans are there because I naively locked in the interest rate at 8% right out of law school!
Yes, I hate the stereotype too, it's really hard to avoid though with so many guys perpetuating it. There are a lot of genuine, well-meaning 'Japan nerds' out there that wrongly get put in that category. That being said, the exact same gaijin-fetish exists on the other end, so it's not that big of a deal. A year or two actually sounds optimal, I've found that anyone who gets so obsessed with one specific culture that they want to live there forever is a bit odd. The respect though the Japanese treat eachother with is indeed unbelievable. As a humble reserved person, I really treasured it and it is so vastly superior to the primitive locker-room interactions here in the US.

I don't get a choice for my interest rate, and I think it actually averages out to 6% or something

with a principle of 130k in debt... so you're not alone. Anyway, good luck.

 

[JTK]

Thanks, Svenn! I'm well aware of the gaijin fetish, too! That's part of the reason I haven't been too successful in finding a good conversation partner in LA. I'm looking to practice my nohongo, and they are shopping for a husband and green card. Now, if they were attractive to begin with I'd be singing a different tune entirely!

 

[lee_44106]

Originally Posted by JTK

Well, I'm definitely not an Asian fetishist. I hate the stereotype and the fact that that is everyone's first assumption when I say that I am learning the language and want to live in Japan. There are plenty of Asian women in So. Cal, and wouldn't need to move to Japan to follow that pursuit. Japan appeals to me for two main reasons: Firstly, it's a dream of mine to finally become fluent in Japanese. All of the books, classes and conversation partners in the US will only get me so far. Secondly, I really enjoy the country, the culture, people, etc. It's everything that I dislike about Los Angeles. I find it fascinating that, despite the population, neon and managed chaos, the streets are clean and the people are relatively civil to each other. I have no intentions of remaining there forever, but a year or two seems like a reasonable goal.
I've actually been practicing for 10 years. The loans are there because I naively locked in the interest rate at 8% right out of law school!

Aren't you a little old to still be in that late teenage idealistic mode of thinking?

So basically you're willing to let go of everything you've got so far for two years of "clean street"?

good luck, and I seriously mean that.

 

[Racove]

The collective knowledge of this forum is truly impressive. Let me hopefully add to it: http://www.daijob.com/en/

 

[Fuuma]

Move to Switzerland, it's as clean and not filled with those annoying yellow people that are all over Japan. In fact Switzerland is pretty much the place to be if you don't want any inferior races (or minarets) around.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted by lee_44106

Aren't you a little old to still be in that late teenage idealistic mode of thinking?

So basically you're willing to let go of everything you've got so far for two years of "clean street"?

good luck, and I seriously mean that.

I actually feel extremely fortunate that I am in a position to "let go of everything" and live one of my dreams. It may not live up to my expectations, but I'm willing to give it a shot! Life's much too short, and I refuse the throw in the towel and merely settle for what I've "got so far." Depending on where the wind blows, Fuuma, I'll have to consider Switzerland!